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WTCR reveals 22-car entry list for 2021 season

The fia world touring car cup has announced 22 full-season entries to contest this year's championship, including six world title winners and the series' first ever female competitor..

This season the grid will welcome drivers representing 12 nationalities which will drive cars constructed by five different manufacturers: Audi, Cupra, Lynk & Co, Honda and Hyundai.

Reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher is back to defend his title driving a Cyan Racing Lynk & Co machine.

The Frenchman will continue to race alongside four-time World Touring Car (WTCC) champion Yvan Muller, while 2017 WTCC champion Thed Bjork pilots a Cyan Performance run Lynk & Co entry.

Hyundai will field six of its new Elantra TCR challengers this season, with veteran Gabriele Tarquini leading its attack.

The 59-year-old Italian, who added the 2018 WTCR title to his 2009 WTCC success, is joined by 2019 champion Norbert Michelisz, Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay and Luca Engstler in the factory supported BRC Squadra Corse and Engstler teams respectively.

Swedish former TCR Europe driver Jessica Backman, who will pilot a new shape Elantra at Target Competition alongside her brother Andreas, will be the first female to race in WTCR. 

Rob Huff, the 2012 WTCC champion, completes the roster of previous winners  as he returns to WTCR in a Zengo Motorsport Cupra after taking last year's Scandinavian TCR crown. The team lineup also includes fellow series returnee Jordi Gene, while Mikel Azcona and Hungarian Bence Boldizs complete the Cupra line-up.

Jessica Backman, 2020 ADAC TCR Germany

Photo by: ADAC

Multiple WTCR race winner Nestor Girolami and ex-Formula 1 driver Tiago Monteiro are expected to lead Honda's charge at Munnich Motorsport.

Audi will also unleash its second generation RS 3 LMS TCR machine as Gilles Magnus, Nathanael Berthon and touring car veteran Tom Coronel represent the German marque.

The grid could increase throughout the campaign as race-by-race entries remain open 14 days ahead of each event.

The entire field will be powered by a sustainable biofuel from P1 Racing Fuels .

"Not only is the WTCR all-season entry list for 2021 big on quantity, it's also very big on quality with a really high level of drivers set to take part, including nine 25 or under, plus the WTCR's first female driver, Jessica Backman," said Xavier Gavory, WTCR Director, Eurosport Events.

"Providing the essential supporting role are 11 highly professional and dedicated teams, while five customer racing departments are actively engaged in WTCR campaigns with all cars equipped with Goodyear tyres and using sustainable biofuel from P1 Racing Fuels for the first time.

"Although we're still a few weeks away from the start of the new season the ingredients are all in place for another epic year of FIA World Touring Car racing."

WTCR is set to embark upon 16 round championship beginning at Germany's Nurburgring Nordschleife on 3-5 June.

Team by team 

29 Nestor Girolami (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR 86 Esteban Guerrieri (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR

9 Attila Tassi (HUN) ALL-INKL.DE Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR 18 Tiago Monteiro (PRT) ALL-INKL.DE Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR

3 Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 5 Norbert Michelisz (HUN) BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR

16 Gilles Magnus (BEL) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS 22 Frederic Vervisch (BEL) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS

17 Nathanael Berthon (FRA) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS 32 Tom Coronel (NLD) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS

11 Thed Bjork (SWE) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR 12 Santiago Urrutia (URY) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR

68 Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR 100 Yvan Muller (FRA) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & C0 03 TCR

8 Luca Engstler (DEU) Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR 69 Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR

19 Andreas Backman (SWE) Target Competition Hyundai Elantra N TCR 26 Jessica Backman (SWE) Target Competition Hyundai Elantra N TCR

79 Rob Huff (GBR) Zengo Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competicion 96 Mikel Azcona (ESP) Zengo Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competicion

28 Jordi Gene (ESP) Zengo Motorsport Drivers' Academy CUPRA Leon Competicion 55 Bence Boldizs (HUN) Zengo Motorsport Drivers' Academy CUPRA Leon Competicion

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Motorsport prime

Wtcr announces 22-car field for 2021 season, the fia world touring car cup has announced 22 full-season entries to contest this year's championship, including six world title winners and the series' first ever female competitor..

Start action

This season the grid will welcome drivers representing 12 nationalities which will drive cars constructed by five different manufacturers: Audi, Cupra, Lynk & Co, Honda and Hyundai.

Reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher is back to defend his title once again driving a Cyan Racing Lynk & Co machine. The Frenchman will continue to race alongside four-time World Touring Car (WTCC) champion Yvan Muller, while 2017 WTCC champion Thed Bjork pilots a Cyan Performance run Lynk & Co entry.

As previously reported , Rob Huff will return to the series racing a Zengo Motorsport Cupra. The team will also welcome back Jordi Gene, who returns to full-time touring car racing for the first time since 2015. Mikel Azcona and Hungarian Bence Boldizs complete the Cupra line-up.

Hyundai will field six of its brand new Elantra TCR challengers this season with touring car super star and 2018 WTCR champion Gabriele Tarquini behind the wheel. He is joined by 2019 champion Norbert Michelisz, Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay and Luca Engstler in the factory supported BRC Squadra Corse and Engstler teams respectively.

Meanwhile, the championship will welcome its first female to race in WTCR courtesy of Swedish former TCR Europe driver Jessica Backman, who will pilot a new shape Elantra at Target Competition, alongside her brother Andreas.

Multiple WTCR race winner Nestor Girolami and former Formula 1 driver Tiago Monteiro are expected to lead Honda's charge at Munnich Motorsport.

Audi will also unleash its second generation RS 3 LMS TCR machine as Gilles Magnus, Nathanael Berthon and touring car veteran Tom Coronel represent the German marque.

The grid could increase throughout the campaign as race-by-race entries remain open 14 days ahead of each event. The entire field will be powered by a sustainable biofuel from P1 Racing Fuels.

"Not only is the WTCR all-season entry list for 2021 big on quantity, it's also very big on quality with a really high level of drivers set to take part, including nine 25 or under, plus the WTCR's first female driver, Jessica Bäckman," said Xavier Gavory, WTCR Director, Eurosport Events.

"Providing the essential supporting role are 11 highly professional and dedicated teams, while five customer racing departments are actively engaged in WTCR campaigns with all cars equipped with Goodyear tyres and using sustainable biofuel from P1 Racing Fuels for the first time.

"Although we're still a few weeks away from the start of the new season the ingredients are all in place for another epic year of FIA World Touring Car racing."

WTCR is set to embark upon 16 round championship beginning at Germany's Nurburgring Nordschleife on 3-5 June.

Team by team 

29 Nestor Girolami (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR 86 Esteban Guerrieri (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR

9 Attila Tassi (HUN) ALL-INKL.DE Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR 18 Tiago Monteiro (PRT) ALL-INKL.DE Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR

3 Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 5 Norbert Michelisz (HUN) BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR

16 Gilles Magnus (BEL) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS 22 Frederic Vervisch (BEL) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS

17 Nathanael Berthon (FRA) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS 32 Tom Coronel (NLD) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS

11 Thed Bjork (SWE) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR 12 Santiago Urrutia (URY) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR

68 Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR 100 Yvan Muller (FRA) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & C0 03 TCR

8 Luca Engstler (DEU) Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR 69 Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR

19 Andreas Backman (SWE) Target Competition Hyundai Elantra N TCR 26 Jessica Backman (SWE) Target Competition Hyundai Elantra N TCR

79 Rob Huff (GBR) Zengo Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competicion 96 Mikel Azcona (ESP) Zengo Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competicion

28 Jordi Gene (ESP) Zengo Motorsport Drivers' Academy CUPRA Leon Competicion 55 Bence Boldizs (HUN) Zengo Motorsport Drivers' Academy CUPRA Leon Competicion

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WSC reveals more information on 2023 TCR World Tour format

More information has been revealed by WSC Group about the 2023 TCR World Tour, which will serve as the top-level of international touring car competition this year culminating in the TCR World Final.

Announced last year, the TCR World Tour effectively takes the place of the now-defunct FIA World Touring Car Cup as the top-level of international touring car racing – and means 2023 will be the first time since 2000 without an FIA title attributed to touring car racing.

A maximum of 16 full-season TCR World Tour entrants will be permitted, with the deadline for entries being the end of February 2023.

Only teams which commit to the full season are eligible for a logistics contribution for the events outside Europe (in South America, Australia and Asia).

The series will adopt the sporting regulations of the local championship which it is part of the event at. The control tyre for the series will be the Kumho TCR tyre.

The qualifying format for all events except the finale will be a two-part split, with a 20-minute Q1 session followed by a 10-minute A2 session open to the 12 fastest drivers in Q1.

Only for the event supporting the TCR Asia Challenge, expected to be at Macau in November, will the format be slightly different (owing to it being a street circuit), with a 30-minute Q1 and a 15-minute Q2 open to the 12 fastest drivers in Q1.

For the first four events (three supporting TCR Europe and one supporting TCR Italy) there will be two 55 kilometre races per weekend.

When the series then moves to South America in August, two 30-minute races (plus one lap) will be held.

For the first of the TCR Australia events in November, three 30-minute races will be held. The second TCR Australia event at Bathurst will be limited to three 21-lap races.

The season finale in Asia then reverts back to a brace of 55 km races as per the opening four events.

Points in qualifying will be allocated on a 15-10-8-6-4-2 basis to the top six drivers in the final result.

Points in the races will be consistent irrespective of the number of races per weekend, and will be allocated on the basis of 30-25-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 to the top fifteen drivers.

All drivers in the TCR World Tour events are eligible to score points for the TCR World Tour and the TCR world Ranking. But TCR World Tour full-season drivers will not score points for the local TCR series hosting the event.

In the TCR World Ranking system, drivers who compete in the TCR World Tour will gain an additional 50% points compared to other eligible TCR World Ranking series.

Compensation weight will be deployed, as has been the case in recent World Touring Car seasons. The system will be based on the fastest qualifying laps set in the previous TCR World Tour event, with a range of 0 to 40 kg in 10kg increments.

Local competitors in TCR World Tour events are subject to the compensation weight system taking into account the results in their local TCR series.

The TCR World Final

Following the ninth event of the season in November, the top 15 drivers in the overall classification of the TCR World Tour will directly qualify for the final race of the TCR World Final event.

They will be joined by additional drivers who are the first 15 TCR World Ranking competitors classified after the play-off.

The opening round of the 2023 TCR World Tour takes place at the Autodrómo do Algarve in Portugal, as part of TCR Europe, on 28 – 30 April.

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Inside WTCR

The wtcr challenge.

TCR cars have become a firm fixture in international racing, having been adopted by dozens of national and regional championships around the globe. The WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup is the pinnacle of TCR racing and features privateer teams from a number of the most prestigious car manufacturers on the planet, including Hyundai.

Taking place on a variety of some of the world’s most demanding circuits, WTCR promotes close, wheel-to-wheel racing, creating a brilliant spectacle for the series; loyal legion of fans. Hyundai’s vehicles have been a formidable force in the championship, with customer teams securing the inaugural drivers’ and teams’ honours in 2018 followed by a second drivers’ title in 2019.

Learn more in our WTCR glossary

The paddock is where teams, race organisers and race officials set up home on a TCR World Tour race weekend. Normally located next to the track and pit lane, it’s where teams prepare their cars for the weekend, host their hospitality, and arrange media sessions. For fans with passes, the paddock is a perfect opportunity to get behind the scenes and look out for their favourite drivers and personalities.

The pit lane is located adjacent to the track to allow easy entry and exit for all participants. Competitors use the pit lane to gain direct access to their garages and pit boxes, where mechanics carry out work on the car. It’s not compulsory to make a pit stop in TCR World Tour, but if a driver has been involved in an incident they may have to come in for repairs. During all sessions, the pit lane must be kept clear of personnel for safety reasons.

The World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) was established in 2018, succeeding the World Touring Car Championship. WTCR adopted TCR technical regulations – a change from TC1 regulations – to become highest class of competition for TCR racing. Every round features a single qualifying session and two races. Teams and drivers compete for a world cup, so there is no direct manufacturer involvement.

A touring car is a four or five-door production vehicle, powered by a two-litre turbocharged engine. Based on the road-going model, the bodywork and suspension tend to remain as production spec, with modifications made to the brakes and aerodynamics to make the car compliant with TCR regulations. Success ballasts are added to the three best performing cars from the previous event, and all cars are subject to Balance of Performance (BoP) adjustments.

Balance of Performance (BoP) is a system used to level the playing field between the cars to make the racing more competitive. The same BoP rules apply across WTCR and all TCR series. The FIA and TCR technical departments define the parameters at the start of the season for competitors and can make adjustments to the weight of a car, engine performance level and apply any technical restrictions it deems necessary.

Located next to the pit lane, the garage is a busy area where mechanics carry out work on the car, change tyres and maybe even take a sneaky look at the competition. Special guests of the team can also be found in the garage keeping a close eye on all the action.

After the qualifying sessions and races, competitors must bring their cars into the restricted parc ferme area – literally meaning ‘closed park’ in French. Here, the cars are scrutineered by the stewards. Only race organisers and stewards have access to this area. No work is permitted on the cars by mechanics and team personnel in parc ferme without the express permission of the officials.

Flags are used to signal specific instructions to drivers. A yellow flag is waved to warn drivers to slow down because of an incident or obstruction. A red flag halts a session because of an incident or poor weather. The green flag signals the start of the race, or an obstruction cleared. The chequered flag is shown at the end of the race. It’s imperative that competitors follow the instructions given to ensure safety while racing.

The first position on the grid, known as pole position, is usually reserved for the driver who has set the fastest lap in qualifying, with the exception of reverse grids. A strong qualifying gives a driver the best possible start on race day, offering a clear run to the first corner with minimal need to overtake rivals – provided a driver has had a good start. 

One of the most important members of the team. Race Engineers work with the driver to set up the car for qualifying and race sessions. They feed back data to ensure the driver can improve next time out, identify and iron out any issues that arise on the car and make crucial strategy calls.

A lap is a single, complete rotation of a track. Most circuit-based races are measured by the number of laps drivers must complete before the race is declared to be finished. In qualifying, drivers compete to set the fastest lap time to win the coveted pole position. A lap record is the fastest time ever to be set at a track.

A safety car is used to limit track speeds and control the pace of the field, usually brought out for an incident or obstructions on track. Competitors must remain behind the safety car and cannot overtake the pace car or rivals. Safety car periods can certainly spice up the racing as it allows the pack to close up. When the safety car period ends, drivers battle to get the best start and use it as a prime opportunity to make up positions.

Mechanics prepare the car in the garage for each session in a race weekend, often up against tight deadlines. To add to the pressure, teams are only permitted to have 10 people work across both cars at any one time. Only team members issued with an armband are permitted to touch the car, so teams have to decide how best to deploy their resources.

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Everything you need to know about the World Touring Car Championship

The World Touring Car Championship this weekend returns to Sonoma Raceway in California, Sept. 7-8. If you plan to attend, here’s a crash-course on the series to get you up to speed on what to expect from the teams and drivers:

There are only four world championships sanctioned by the FIA, the governing body of global motorsports, and one of them is back in the United States this weekend. The World Touring Car Championship visits Sonoma Raceway for a second consecutive season. No prizes for guessing at least two of the other FIA-sanctioned series, Formula One and the World Rally Championship. The fourth, you’ve probably just remembered, is the World Endurance Championship, which is now in its second season after reviving the long-tradition of world series sports-car racing that stretches all the way back to 1953.

The WTCC as we know it grew out of the European Touring Car Championship in 2005 and has no direct lineage to the original, one-off world championship for touring cars that took place in 1987. Just about the only connection between today’s WTCC and the old series -- known simply as the WTC at the time -- is that touring-car legend Roberto Ravaglia won the title as a driver more than a quarter of a century ago, and now competes as a team owner with the RAOL Motorsport BMW squad.

The WTCC today is TV-friendly sprint series with two races of between 50-60 kilometers -- that’s somewhere between 31-37 miles. The two WTCC races this weekend, both on Sunday, are schedule for just 13 laps of the 2.51-mile Sonoma circuit. So there’s no chance of running for a mid-race hotdog if you don’t want to miss anything. But if this was the WTC circa 1987, you could fit in a three-course meal. The original series, fought out by E30-shape BMW M3s and Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworths, among others, was an endurance championship that included the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium and the Bathurst 1000 in Australia.

The first of the WTCC sprints each weekend begins with a rolling start, the second with a standing start. Qualifying, meanwhile, is a two-round affair: the fastest 12 cars in the first session go through to final qualifying, which not only sets the grid but also has a smattering of points on offer. The pole winner gets five points, the second-placed driver gets four, down to one point for fifth place. The first 10 grid positions from race one are then reversed for the second race.

What you see is what you get with the WTCC. The likes of the Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic and BMW 320 that make up much of the grid are based on real street cars and retain the four or five-door unibody chassis of the road-going originals. The Super 2000 rulebook to which the cars are built allows much less scope for modification than the old Super Touring regulations, which you might remember made a brief foray in the United States back in 1996-97 with the North American Touring Car Championship co-promoted by CART team owner Gerry Forsythe.

The rules, since 2011, have allowed bespoke competition engines in the form of 1.6-liter, direct-injection units producing approximately 330 horsepower. That’s somewhere in the region of 30-40 hp more than the production-based, normally-aspirated 2.0-liter gasoline engines and turbodiesels of the same capacity that they replaced. The new engines are built to the Global Race Engine formula, which was once the FIA’s Great Hope. The idea was that a manufacturer could build one engine and race with it in everything from touring cars, through IndyCars and on to F1. It didn’t quite work out like that, however: IndyCar and F1 spoiled the party and went their own ways.

Don’t bother getting too familiar with the technical specs of the current WTCC contenders -- it’s all going to change for next year. The cars will be upgraded in the name of improving the show. Power will be increased to somewhere in the region of 380 hp, wheel-arches will bulge out and the cars will sprout a big rear wing up to roof height.

You might think Chevrolet is coming home by racing in California, but you’d be wrong. These Chevys are built in South Korea and transformed for racing by Ray Mallock’s RML team in the U.K., which aficionados will recall developed the Saleen S7 road and race cars.

Chevrolet leads the points with multiple touring car champion Yvan Muller, but the RML-run crew is not a factory team. Chevrolet ended its factory involvement in the WTCC at the end of last season after eight years, but RML is continuing to compete -- and win -- on a privateer basis. That means the General Motors brand isn’t registered for the manufacturers’ championship, which is fought out only by Honda and, believe it or not, Lada from Russia.

Honda, one of the stalwarts of the Super Touring era, rejoined front-line tin-top competition for the final three races of last season ahead of a full campaign in 2013. Its team is run out of Italy by the JAS organization, which has long-standing links with the Japanese manufacturer dating back to the end of the 1990s.

Honda driver Gabriele Tarquini is still going strong at the age of 51 and, in 2013, has maintained a sequence of at least one race victory in every season of the WTCC. The veteran of 38 F1 Grands Prix starts -- and a record-breaking 41 non-qualifications -- is a former WTCC title winner and, by virtue of his 2009 success with SEAT, holds the record as the oldest winner of an FIA world title at the age of 47.

Frenchman Muller’s WTCC record is even more impressive. He is well on the way to a fourth WTCC title, courtesy of a lead of more than 100 points with only three weekends left after Sonoma, and has no fewer than 36 wins in the series since 2006 to his name. With French and British touring car titles also to his credit, he can claim to be one of the all-time great tin-top drivers.

A 132-point lead means that, in theory, Muller can seal title number four at Sonoma. It’s pretty unlikely, however, given that the reverse grid for race two means that one driver rarely wins both races over the weekend. In fact, even the mercurial Muller has only done it once so far this year.

Muller’s nearest rival in the points table is Dane Michel Nykjaer, who also drives a Chevy Cruze. The 33-year-old races for the NIKA Racing team from Sweden, and has three wins so far this year, which has given him a 14-point buffer over Honda man Tarquini.

Three Britons round out the remainder of the top six: James Nash is third with a Cruze run by the bamboo engineering squad; Rob Huff is fourth with a SEAT Leon entered by the All-Inkl/Munnich Motorsport team from Germany; and Tom Chilton, Muller’s teammate at RML, is sixth. Nash is already a touring car stalwart at the age of 27, and has raced with Vauxhall in the British Touring Car Championship and Ford in the WTCC in 2012. Huff and Chilton should be more familiar to U.S. motorsports fans. Huff is reigning WTCC champion, while Chilton, elder brother of Marussia F1 driver Max, won an American Le Mans Series race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca back in 2005.

Next year’s WTCC will receive a massive boost with the arrival of nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb. The Frenchman, who has now ended his rallying career, will drive for the incoming factory Citroën team alongside Muller. To build up his experience of circuit racing, the rally legend is taking part in this year’s FIA GT Series with his own team and a McLaren MP4-12C GT3 car.

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What is Touring Car Racing?

Table of Contents

About touring car racing, helpful links.

• Invented : Mid-1900s
• Highest Governing Body : Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

Touring car racing is a unique form of motorsports in which standard vehicles are altered for racing. The cars that qualify for touring car racing are created from average cars that people drive on the road but are heavily modified for speed and race conditions. Aspects of a car, such as its engine, brakes, and wheels, can all be changed (within the conditions of the race) to create a more aerodynamic car. The body of the cars used in touring car races can include styles such as hatchbacks and sedans.

In touring car racing, there are two main kinds of races: sprint races and endurance races. Sprint races include a short mileage distance, while endurance races can last from 3 to 24 hours. Endurance races test the consistency and speed of the driver, car, and pit crew.

Touring car racing originated in the mid-1900s when drivers would race on long stretches of public roads for significant periods of time. Now, the sport has evolved in popularity and has consistent international competitions sponsored by car companies.

• Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
• United States Touring Car Championship
• World Touring Car Cup
• Video: Insane Touring Car Race Subaru WRX vs Toyota AE86 vs Holden Monaro

What is touring car racing?

Touring car racing is a sport where drivers compete against each other in various races in touring cars. Touring cars are created from normal, everyday cars but are heavily modified for professional racing. In modern races, drivers compete to drive the required distance on a track in the shortest amount of time. While competing, drivers wear firearm suits, driving shoes, and a helmet.

What are the biggest touring car races in the world?

The World Touring Car Cup, British Touring Car Championship, and Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) are three of the largest touring car races. The championships and races typically happen once a year and include professional drivers and modified cars from various manufacturers. In races such as the World Touring Car Cup, equipment such as sustainable fuel and tires are provided to create equal opportunity, among other cost-control measures.

How fast are touring cars?

Compared to other racing cars, touring cars tend to have slower speed capacity since they are created from standard auto bodies. However, the fastest touring cars can still produce about 600 horsepower. Typically, in an international tournament, there are different race divisions that consist of touring cars with different horsepower. Each race has different horsepower requirements, which impact the maximum speed of the vehicle. In the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, cars can reach up to 186 miles per hour.

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Motorsport prime

Wtcr announces 22-car field for 2021 season, the fia world touring car cup has announced 22 full-season entries to contest this year's championship, including six world title winners and the series' first ever female competitor..

Start action

This season the grid will welcome drivers representing 12 nationalities which will drive cars constructed by five different manufacturers: Audi, Cupra, Lynk & Co, Honda and Hyundai.

Reigning champion Yann Ehrlacher is back to defend his title once again driving a Cyan Racing Lynk & Co machine. The Frenchman will continue to race alongside four-time World Touring Car (WTCC) champion Yvan Muller, while 2017 WTCC champion Thed Bjork pilots a Cyan Performance run Lynk & Co entry.

As previously reported , Rob Huff will return to the series racing a Zengo Motorsport Cupra. The team will also welcome back Jordi Gene, who returns to full-time touring car racing for the first time since 2015. Mikel Azcona and Hungarian Bence Boldizs complete the Cupra line-up.

Hyundai will field six of its brand new Elantra TCR challengers this season with touring car super star and 2018 WTCR champion Gabriele Tarquini behind the wheel. He is joined by 2019 champion Norbert Michelisz, Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay and Luca Engstler in the factory supported BRC Squadra Corse and Engstler teams respectively.

Meanwhile, the championship will welcome its first female to race in WTCR courtesy of Swedish former TCR Europe driver Jessica Backman, who will pilot a new shape Elantra at Target Competition, alongside her brother Andreas.

Multiple WTCR race winner Nestor Girolami and former Formula 1 driver Tiago Monteiro are expected to lead Honda's charge at Munnich Motorsport.

Audi will also unleash its second generation RS 3 LMS TCR machine as Gilles Magnus, Nathanael Berthon and touring car veteran Tom Coronel represent the German marque.

The grid could increase throughout the campaign as race-by-race entries remain open 14 days ahead of each event. The entire field will be powered by a sustainable biofuel from P1 Racing Fuels.

"Not only is the WTCR all-season entry list for 2021 big on quantity, it's also very big on quality with a really high level of drivers set to take part, including nine 25 or under, plus the WTCR's first female driver, Jessica Bäckman," said Xavier Gavory, WTCR Director, Eurosport Events.

"Providing the essential supporting role are 11 highly professional and dedicated teams, while five customer racing departments are actively engaged in WTCR campaigns with all cars equipped with Goodyear tyres and using sustainable biofuel from P1 Racing Fuels for the first time.

"Although we're still a few weeks away from the start of the new season the ingredients are all in place for another epic year of FIA World Touring Car racing."

WTCR is set to embark upon 16 round championship beginning at Germany's Nurburgring Nordschleife on 3-5 June.

Team by team 

29 Nestor Girolami (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR 86 Esteban Guerrieri (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR

9 Attila Tassi (HUN) ALL-INKL.DE Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR 18 Tiago Monteiro (PRT) ALL-INKL.DE Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR

3 Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 5 Norbert Michelisz (HUN) BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR

16 Gilles Magnus (BEL) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS 22 Frederic Vervisch (BEL) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS

17 Nathanael Berthon (FRA) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS 32 Tom Coronel (NLD) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport Audi RS 3 LMS

11 Thed Bjork (SWE) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR 12 Santiago Urrutia (URY) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR

68 Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 03 TCR 100 Yvan Muller (FRA) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & C0 03 TCR

8 Luca Engstler (DEU) Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR 69 Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team Hyundai Elantra N TCR

19 Andreas Backman (SWE) Target Competition Hyundai Elantra N TCR 26 Jessica Backman (SWE) Target Competition Hyundai Elantra N TCR

79 Rob Huff (GBR) Zengo Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competicion 96 Mikel Azcona (ESP) Zengo Motorsport CUPRA Leon Competicion

28 Jordi Gene (ESP) Zengo Motorsport Drivers' Academy CUPRA Leon Competicion 55 Bence Boldizs (HUN) Zengo Motorsport Drivers' Academy CUPRA Leon Competicion

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Tiago Monteiro

The 2022 WTCR season marks 10 years since Monteiro became a Honda driver, having joined the brand when it entered the FIA World Touring Car Championship in the latter stages of 2012.

That season, the Formula 1 podium finisher secured Honda's first top-three WTCC finish as a manufacturer on just its third outing in Macau, and he has since added nine victories as a Honda driver. He became the first Portuguese driver to lead an FIA world championship in 2016, and was favourite to win the WTCC title the following season until a testing crash prevented him from realising that goal. Monteiro made his racing return in the WTCR, which succeeded the WTCC, at Suzuka in 2018 and completed his recovery with an emotional victory in front of his home crowd in Vila Real in 2019 - winning again two years later in the season-opening race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

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BREAKING NEWS

DeSantis signs bill banning Florida children under 14 from social media. Here’s what it means

4 advisories in effect for coastal flagler and coastal volusia regions, 500 miles in a toy car: a guinness world record attempt from jacksonville to key west, 2 women attempt the longest trip by toy car and their journey doubles as a fundraiser to save animals.

Carianne Luter , Digital Media & Engagement Manager

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – How far have you driven during a road trip? 100 miles, 500 miles? Imagine doing that drive in a toy car.

Two women, Cassie Aran and Lauren, are attempting a 500-mile drive down the coast of Florida to earn the Guinness World Record for Longest Distance by Toy Cars, and their journey began in Duval County, according to News 6 partner WJXT.

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Cassie and Lauren, who asked us not to use her last name, started their journey at Friendship Fountain in Jacksonville and will end at the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West. With occasional assistance from Cassie’s boyfriend, Brandon Lucante, they expect the attempt to take two months.

Cassie and Lauren’s Story

Cassie and Lauren have been close friends since their kindergarten days in New Jersey, where they rode battery-powered toy cars in the neighborhood.

“This just kind of came as this wild idea because we had these cars as kids,” Lauren said. “We used to ride around with toy cars as kids and have always wanted a Guinness World Record attempt. So we’re like, this would be a fun way to kind of honor our childhood.”

The two have a great relationship and love pushing the boundaries to add excitement and spontaneity into their lives. They aim to inspire others to do the same throughout this process and to remind everyone not to take life so seriously.

“We just love to do crazy adventures and push the limits of what is possible and try to inspire other people in the process,” Lauren said.

The million-dollar question, or record-setting question — why?

Besides aiming for a Guinness World Record — which doesn’t currently exist, by the way — Cassie and Lauren said they’ve transformed the endeavor into a memorable road trip. Why go five miles to set a record with your best friend when you can go 500, right?

And did we mention their mission is also raising money to save animals?

Cassie and Lauren encourage donations by giving shoutouts on social media to their top donors. With more than one million followers on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram — the duo raised more than $600 during the first 24 hours of their journey.

Their fundraiser aims to reach $10,000, which they will donate to the Red Panda Network in Nepal, the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center, the Save a Fox Rescue in Minnesota, the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri and more.

Cassie also owns a clothing company called “The Ear Socks,” where 10% of all proceeds from sales of shirts, stickers and hoodies go toward the Best Friend’s Animal Society to help end all kill shelters by 2025.

You can learn more about their mission to save animals  by visiting their website.

Preparation

The Guinness World Record folks are sticklers and getting into the record book isn’t easy.

Cassie and Lauren told News4JAX it took nearly a year for the Guinness team to approve their attempt for the “Longest Distance by Toy Car.”

When they finally gave the pair the “OK,” they also sent a laundry list of requirements the duo will have to track for the attempt to be counted (see below).

One of the first things Cassie, Lauren, and Brandon had to do before starting their journey was drive along their chosen routes to verify accessibility. One of the paths they have to use is through the Everglades.

Official Rules and Regulations

To receive the official title of “Longest Journey by Toy Car,” Guinness must be 100% certain the two didn’t cheat.

So Cassie and Lauren created a daily checklist to keep track of the dozens of things they must have in order at the end of their journey.

The rulebook:  Guinness sent the two a giant rulebook of things they can and can’t do. Some rules include: the shell of the cars must remain the same during the entire journey. The batteries, tires and wires may be replaced, but they must be the same ones that came with the vehicle. They must carry specific things with them at all times. Cassie and Lauren must adhere to these specific guidelines, and more, outlined by Guinness World Records for the record they are attempting.

The logbook & witness book:  The two must also use a logbook to track every stop they make, even if it’s to use the bathroom. They must record why they stopped in the logbook and include photos, receipts, and signatures (witness statements) of individuals who saw them there. They also must take a picture with every known Florida landmark along the route. These details provide comprehensive and verifiable evidence that supports the record attempt. Cassie and Lauren will also use their video recordings on social media as documentation of their day-to-day journey.

“The daily checklist is like our Bible,” Cassie said. “Like, if we miss one little thing, it’s over. We could lose the whole world record if we left one thing off that checklist.”

GPS tracker:  Guinness World Records gave Cassie and Lauren a GPS tracker they must turn on every day before their journey to ensure the attempt is accurate and authentic and that they’re not cheating or manipulating data. The GPS tracks where they go, how fast they go, when they stop, etc.

The two must follow the Guinness guidelines, which include making safety a priority so they don’t hurt themselves or anyone else.

Break any of the rules and Cassie and Lauren will not be awarded the record.

“It’s a lot,” Lauren said. “It’s intensive and it’s all day. It’s a lot of work. It’s not like we’re just driving cars all day. It’s a lot of logging things and taking photos and getting signatures.”

Trials and tribulations

This isn’t Cassie and Lauren’s first attempt at the record. The toy cars they used on their first go-round hit the sidewalk and failed them only a few miles in.

“The first time that we attempted this, the batteries did not last as long as they did in testing for us, and it was like half as long,” Lauren said.

The two weren’t even out of Jacksonville before they had to start over, this time with new vehicles — Freddo Rocket toy cars. The two-seaters can handle rough terrain and can reach 11 mph (now you see why it’s going to take at least two months). The cars have headlights, emergency brakes and even play music. One major obstacle they face while driving these cars is they must steer clear of significant cracks and potholes due to the low clearance of their vehicle.

When they tested the battery life on the Freddo Rocket cars, they lasted around 11 miles. Yes, that means they have to stop to change out their batteries every 11(ish) miles. They plan on charging the batteries overnight at hotels.

With the new cars, they were off again and so far, so good.

But of course, it’s Florida.

The weather and other factors will come into play for sure. How fast can an alligator go again?

Cassie and Lauren said that when it rains, they have to use car covers and umbrellas to protect the vehicles and essentially have to ride out the storm.

To stay updated on Cassie and Lauren’s journey, check out their  YouTube ,  Instagram ,  Facebook , and  TikTok  channels, or visit  their  website .  Learn more about  The Ear Socks .

Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily :

Copyright 2024 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.

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Carianne luter, related stories, man banned from buc-ee’s ‘for life’ after bringing service duck to store, random florida fact: daytona beach’s mascot, ‘for sale’ sign placed on florida deputy’s patrol car windshield, orlando solar bears shatters guinness world record for largest aloha shirt gathering.

Money Report

How to stop your internet-connected car from sharing and maybe even selling your driving data

By cheryl winokur munk,cnbc • published march 23, 2024 • updated on march 23, 2024 at 10:13 am.

• By 2030, more than 95% of passenger cars sold are likely to have embedded internet connectivity and McKinsey has estimated car-data monetization could deliver $250 billion to $400 billion in annual revenue for industry players by 2030.
• Recent sale of driver data to insurance companies has internet privacy advocates worried, with one analysis recently dubbing cars "the worst product category" ever reviewed for privacy.
• As with many consumer technologies, opting out of data sharing can often be buried in settings and menus that consumers cannot easily find.

So-called connected cars, vehicles equipped with internet access, are becoming the norm, and their proliferation is sounding the alarm for consumer data privacy advocates.

By 2030, more than 95% of the passenger cars sold are likely to have embedded connectivity, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research. This allows car manufacturers to offer functions related to safety and security, predictive maintenance and prognostics. But it also opens the door for companies to collect, share or sell data related to driving habits and other personal information that people may not want shared.

Most car manufacturers provide options to opt out of unnecessary data sharing, but as with many other consumer technologies where there is money to be made from the sale of data, these settings are often buried within menus, according to Counterpoint senior analyst Parv Sharma. A McKinsey report from 2021 predicted that various use cases for car-data monetization could deliver $250 billion to $400 billion in annual revenue for industry players by 2030.

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To be sure, there can be valid reasons to collect driver and car data for safety and functionality purposes, and some essential services, such as emergency and security-related data sharing, may be difficult or impossible to opt out of. Predictive maintenance is among the reasons for more data sharing, allowing manufacturers to determine that a part used in its fleet is failing sooner than expected in order to issue a recall, said James Hodgson, smart mobility and automotive research director at global technology intelligence firm ABI Research.

But there are growing privacy concerns as reports proliferate about car companies sharing driver data with insurers, and as car companies get into the insurance business themselves. One is that driving habits and car-usage details could be reported to data collectors and shared with insurance carriers for rate decisions. That's not to be confused with the new model of usage-based insurance , offered by companies from Progressive to Root, that offers drivers the potential to earn lower rates if they specifically allow insurers to install devices in cars that track their behavior.

There's also a concern that sensitive personal information will be shared or sold to advertising companies, or inadvertently leaked in a way that bad actors can use it. 

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"The amount of personal and car information that car companies collect, share and sometimes sell is beyond what is necessary to get someone from Point A to Point B safely. And it's just getting worse," said Jen Caltrider, a privacy researcher at Mozilla Foundation. A September report from Mozilla gave 25 major car brands failing marks for consumer privacy. The report was headlined: "It’s Official: Cars Are the Worst Product Category We Have Ever Reviewed for Privacy."

Many consumers simply don't know how their data is being used, or that it's being used at all. A Salesforce survey of more than 2,000 car owners and lessors in the U.S. found that few drivers understand the definition of a connected car and what data is being collected. And while drivers may be willing to trade personal data for connected car benefits — like advanced personalization and cheaper insurance — not knowing how data is being used could leave consumers vulnerable, industry professionals said.  

There's no easy answer for customers looking to bolster their data privacy behind the wheel. One option, that is becoming increasingly less practical, is to buy an older car that can't collect your data.

Another option is to research a carmaker's privacy protections before you buy. This information can often be found on a carmaker's website or by searching online using keywords such as the company name, privacy and connected car. Several companies, for example, say in their privacy policies that they don't sell customer data, but that doesn't mean they aren't sharing it with third parties. What's more, the definition of selling can be nuanced, depending on factors such as a state's privacy laws, Caltrider said.

What Ford, Hyundai, Nissan and BMW say

Before downloading the carmaker's app for your vehicle or signing up for the free trial of its connected services, see what your options are for opting out. Ford, for example, said it provides customers with a choice regarding any sharing of connected vehicle data. Hyundai said it allows owners and lessees the choice of whether to enroll in its connected services by accepting the terms and conditions at any point during their use of the vehicle. Nissan also said it allows consumers to opt out of data collection. For its part, BMW said in a September release that it "allows vehicle drivers to make granular choices regarding the collection and processing of their personal information. Further, we allow our customers to delete their data whether on their apps, vehicles or online."

If you've already downloaded the app or signed up for connected services, ask your car manufacturer what options exist for opting out. Additionally, in some states like California, Colorado and Connecticut, consumers can submit requests to their car company regarding the personal information that's been collected and how they are sharing it, said Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, managing director for D.C. at the International Association of Privacy Professionals. A handful of states allow consumers to opt out of having their personal information sold and more are moving in this direction, he added.

Just keep in mind what you may be giving up in return for greater privacy protections. Opting out of data-sharing comes with trade-offs, since it often requires disabling useful or desirable features, said Mo Al-Bodour, a consulting manager at SBD Automotive. These features can include navigation, remote unlock and the ability to receive service-related updates.

Consumers should be sure to review their privacy settings periodically, Caltrider said.

The government is looking at car privacy regulations

There are various regulatory efforts afoot to understand carmakers' data-sharing practices and reign in potential privacy violations. For its part, the enforcement division of the California Privacy Protection Agency announced a review of the connected vehicle industry during its July 2023 board meeting. That review is underway, a spokesperson said, declining further comment.

Carmakers' data-sharing practices could become fodder for federal action as well. Basic disclosure of data practices is not necessarily enough to avoid enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission, Zweifel-Keegan said.

The issue is gaining broader attention. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, sent letters in December to 14 car manufacturers urging them to implement and enforce stronger privacy protections in their vehicles. 

"Cars today are smartphones on wheels," he wrote in an email. "We cannot allow automakers' desires to make profits to overrun the need to protect consumer privacy, which is why I demanded answers from 14 companies on their data practices and privacy protections in their vehicles. Self-regulation has failed. The federal government must be a leader in the fight to protect consumers' right to privacy," Markey said.

Eric Goldman, associate dean for research and a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, wrote in an email that "we are in desperate need of a comprehensive federal consumer privacy bill that would address this circumstance and preempt the hodgepodge of state laws."

Maybe the best-case scenario for automakers and consumers is that the growing attention leads more car companies to use stricter data privacy practices as a marketing tool, similar to how Apple differentiates itself from competitors, Hodgson said. It's not the case today, but at some point manufacturers may compete on the idea that consumers can easily turn off certain data, he said.

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Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts has hit a lot of home runs in his MLB career, 253 of them to be exact. But the Dodgers’ shortstop has never hit one that compares to his latest effort in the MLB World Tour: Seoul Series on Thursday .

With the Dodgers trailing the Padres 10-6, Betts stepped to the plate against Padres pitcher Michael King and worked the count to his favor before absolutely smashing a baseball over the fence in left-center. The ball traveled 400 feet and brought home Jason Heyward to bring the score within reach at 10-8.

While hitting a home run overseas may be a moment he never forgets, the real treat, aside from helping his team narrow the deficit, was the fact that Betts’ home run also won him a brand-new car.

The Hyundai Motor Company is based out of South Korea, which makes it the perfect establishment to partner with the MLB Tour Seoul Series. Part of the agreement included giving away a brand new car to whoever hit the first home run during the two-game series.

Thus, when Betts cranked his home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, he won a new Hyundai IONIQ 5.

The first HR of the 2024 season belongs to @mookiebetts ! #SeoulSeries pic.twitter.com/PtSrfxBHNY — MLB (@MLB) March 21, 2024

Betts’ home run was the first of the MLB season, which is crazy considering 16 runs had already been scored, in addition to another seven more on Wednesday. Yet, only Betts will be taking home a new car.

Related: Yoshinobu Yamamoto fails to escape second inning, gets rocked in Los Angeles Dodgers debut

More About: MLB

Macron to Visit Amazon Rainforest With Lula on 3-Day Brazil Tour

FILE PHOTO: France's President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he speaks with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a meeting with Colombia's President, Argentina's President and Vice President of Venezuela on the sidelines of a summit of European Union-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Summit (EU-CELAC) at The European Council Building in Brussels on July 17, 2023. EMMANUEL DUNAND/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

By Lisandra Paraguassu and Elizabeth Pineau

BRASILIA/PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron, who criticized Brazil's previous government for failing to protect the rainforest, will arrive on Tuesday in the Amazon at the start of a three-day visit to the South American country.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet Macron in Belem, near the mouth of the Amazon River, where the two will visit conservation parks with sustainable development projects and meet with Indigenous leaders.

"Lula wants to show Macron the complexity of the Amazon, which is not just a vast rainforest but also a place where 25 million people live," Brazil's top diplomat for Europe and North America, Maria Luisa Escorel, told reporters on Friday.

She said the French government intends to fund sustainable development and programs to stop deforestation in the Amazon.

Lula and Macron will discuss a common course to fight both climate change and poverty as Brazil prepares to host the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in November and United Nations climate talks in Belem next year, both of which the French president will attend, the Elysée said in a briefing.

Photos You Should See

A stalled trade agreement between the European Union and the South American common market Mercosur will not be on their agenda because it is not a bilateral matter, Brazilian and French officials said.

Macron, who faces pressure from French farmers to kill the deal, has said he opposes the agreement that has been under negotiation for two decades.

Brazil, in turn, is unhappy with EU legislation passed last year barring imports of coffee, beef, soy and other commodities if they are linked to recent deforestation, which Brazilian farmers consider a protectionist offensive.

Despite those issues, relations between France and Brazil have recovered from a low point in 2019 when Macron led a wave of international pressure on then-President Jair Bolsonaro over fires raging in the Amazon. Bolsonaro accused Macron and other G7 countries of treating Brazil like "a colony".

"After a four-year eclipse and a virtual freeze in political relations between our two countries during Bolsonaro's presidency, we are in the process of relaunching the bilateral relationship and the strategic partnership with Brazil," a French presidential adviser said.

On Wednesday, at the Itaguai shipyard outside Rio, Macron and Lula will launch the third Scorpene-class diesel-powered submarine built in Brazil with French technology, part of a $10 billion program that will build Brazil's first nuclear-powered submarine at the end of the decade.

The program is a partnership with France's state-run Naval Group in which the Thales defense group has a 35% stake.

Macron will meet business executives in Sao Paulo on Wednesday afternoon and make a state visit to Brasilia on Thursday, meeting again with Lula and the head of the Senate.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia and Elizabeth Pineau in Paris; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Brad Haynes and Estelle Shirbon)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Tags: environment , France , European Union , international trade , Europe , Brazil , South America

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Ford Sets New Quarter-Mile Record And Announces Mustang 60th Anniversary Tour

The Super Cobra Jet 1800 electric drag racer set a new record by running the quarter-mile in 7.759 seconds at 180.14 mph

by Michael Gauthier

The Ford Mustang is turning 60 and the company is celebrating the occasion with a Mustang Unleashed tour. It kicks off next month and will have 12 stops across the United States.

The journey begins in Long Beach, California as the first leg of the tour will be held in conjunction with a Formula Drift event . The company didn’t go into many specifics, but visitors can expect vehicle walkarounds and demonstrations. There will also be merchandise available for purchase as well as a Mustang Garage, where owners can learn about customizing their car.

Some events, presumably those held at tracks, will also invite visitors to hop in the passenger seat to “experience Mustang’s advanced performance technology with hot laps from professional drivers.” The company also mentioned there will be line lock demos.

Only six cities have been announced at this point, but there will be stops in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Texas, and Virginia. Ford is encouraging owners of the 2024 Mustang to attend and pre-registration is open exclusively to them. They’ll apparently receive a gift or two as well as other perks.

In a statement, Mustang Brand Manager Joe Bellino said the Mustang “needs to be more accessible” so “Mustang Unleashed will show customers what makes Mustang great, rather than merely telling them. And by pairing with events and festivals across the country, it will bring Mustang to new customers and grow one of the auto industry’s most passionate fan bases.”

Cobra Jet EV Sets New Record

Super Cobra Jet 1800 breaks the @NHRA record for a full bodied EV-Drag car in Pomona with a blazing pass of 7.759 at 180.14mph! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ZndIlXvlT9 — Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) March 23, 2024

In other pony car news, the Super Cobra Jet 1800 electric drag racer set a new world record for the “fastest quarter-mile pass with a full bodied-drag car.” At the National Hot Rod Association Winter Nationals, the EV demonstrator ran the quarter-mile in 7.759 seconds at 180.14 mph (289.91 km/h).

More: 2024 Ford Mustang Gains A Factory Matte Clear Film For $6,000

That’s significantly better than what the Cobra Jet 1400 achieved in 2021, when it set a record for running the quarter-mile in 8.128 seconds at 171.97 mph (276.76 km/h). Of course, the improvement isn’t too surprising as Ford added 400 hp (298 kW / 406 PS) and slashed the battery system’s weight by over 40%.

Watch: Women attempting 500-mile journey in toy cars

March 20 (UPI) -- A pair of Florida women are attempting to create a new Guinness World Record by driving 500 miles down the state's coast in a pair of toy cars.

Cassie Aran and her friend, Lauren, who requested her last name be withheld, are documenting their adventures on social media after setting off from Friendship Fountain in Jacksonville in a pair of ride-on toy cars.

The women are aiming to make the 500-mile drive to the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West in a time of about two months.

The duo said Guinness World Records does not currently list a record-holder for the longest distance traveled by toy car, but the record-keeping organization approved their application to inaugurate the category.

"This just kind of came as this wild idea because we had these cars as kids," Lauren told WJXT-TV . "We used to ride around with toy cars as kids and have always wanted a Guinness World Record attempt. So we're like, this would be a fun way to kind of honor our childhood."

The record attempt is raising money for animal charities including the Red Panda Network in Nepal, the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center, the Save a Fox Rescue in Minnesota and the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri.

Money blog: Heathrow announces six new routes; three UK tourist attractions introducing 'surge pricing'

Six new routes will be available from Heathrow this summer, to Abu Dhabi, Kos, Izmir, Bangalore, Barcelona and Paris-Orly. Read this and more in the Money blog - your place for consumer and personal finance news. Leave a comment on the stories we're covering, or a Money Problem, below.

Monday 25 March 2024 21:39, UK

• 3% interest rate to return next year, respected economists predict
• Heathrow announces six new routes
• Legoland, Sea Life and Madame Tussauds introducing 'surge pricing'
• Free childcare about to be extended - here's all the support on offer to parents of young children
• Ofgem considering price cap overhaul
• Money Problem : My boss makes me use annual leave for sick days - is this legal?
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Ask a question or make a comment

The British government is no longer the controlling shareholder in NatWest bank , reducing its stake in the lender to below 30%.

NatWest received several multibillion-pound bailouts at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, resulting in the government being left with an 84% stake in what was then known as RBS Group.

The government had been slowly selling down its stake but it accelerated the process in recent months.

Read the full story here ...

People who drive SUVs could have to pay higher parking charges in Oxford under plans drawn up by some city councillors.

The motion has been put forward by the city's Green Party.

It follows a new policy in Paris that saw parking charges triple for SUV drivers. 

The Green Party's plan would have to be approved by the Labour-controlled council.

Apple, Meta and Google's parent company are being investigated by the European Union under new laws designed to clamp down on the market power of the world's tech giants.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force at the beginning of March and aims to tackle "gatekeeping" behaviour among tech giants.

If the companies are found guilty of non-compliance, they face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover.

Under the new rules, companies are expected to allow app developers to steer users to products outside their own platforms for no extra charge.

Also, platforms that rank search results must treat all listings fairly and in a way that does not discriminate against services offered by third parties.

The number of under-30s with millionaire salaries has grown to a record high of 830, while more than 15,000 young people earn over £150,000, analysis by accountancy firm Lubbock Fine shows.

Before the pandemic, 650 under-30s had earned at least £1m and 13,400 earned more than £150,000.

Among the highest paid young people in the UK are pop star Dua Lipa, Manchester City star Erling Haaland and actress Millie Bobby Brown.

Lubbock Fine said the rise in £1m-plus earners is being driven by higher pay packages for sports, media and music stars, while the rise in those on more than £150,000 is thanks to higher salaries in the technology and financial services industries.

The average salary for a Premier League footballer is £3.6m a year, with Erling Haaland, 23, the highest earner under 30. 

The star earns £19.5m a year, or £375,000 a week, according to Spotrac. 

Chelsea and England star Raheem Sterling, 29, is on £16.9m, while Jack Grealish, 28, and Marcus Rashford, 26, both earn £15.6m. 

In music, pop star Dua Lipa, 28, is thought to be the richest under 30 with a wealth of more than £75m. 

The highest-paid young British actor is Millie Bobby Brown, known for her starring roles in Stranger Things and Enola Holmes.

She is said to have accumulated a net worth of £20m.

But while football and music and acting is a route to fame and fortune, in cash terms it is dwarfed by tech. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, the wealthiest under-30 in the UK is the 28-year-old builder of the video conferencing app Hopin, Johnny Boufarhat (£1.7bn).

Wealthiest under-30s

• Johnny Boufarhat, founder of Hopin - £1.714bn
• Christian Owens, founder of Paddle - £101m
• Dua Lipa, pop star - £75m
• Raheem Sterling, footballer - £61m
• Charlie Morgan, co-founder of Au Vodka - £55m
• Niall Horan, pop star - £54m
• Harry Kane, footballer - £51m
• Daniel Knight, director of Kinetic Games - £50m

Visitors to the popular tourist attractions will pay more at peak times under new plans from owner Merlin Entertainments. 

Surge pricing - which means prices fluctuate depending on demand - will be introduced at the company's top 20 global attractions by the end of this year. 

Scott O'Neil, chief executive of Merlin Entertainments, said people would expect to pay more in peak season, for example a Saturday in August, than on a "rainy Tuesday in March".

He told Business Live With Ian King : "One thing I love about dynamic pricing is that it offers an opportunity in the peak times to make sure the queues are down and the guest experience is high. 

"The other part that I really appreciate about dynamic pricing is that in off-peak times, it allows families that might not otherwise have an opportunity to go."

The theme park operator will use machine learning to monitor supply and demand.

Surge pricing is frequently used by hotels and airlines, but the model is being increasingly adopted by entertainment facilities. 

Merlin revealed today it had delivered record revenues of £2.1bn in 2023, up 8% year on year. 

However, visitor numbers have still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

Roughly 62.1 million people visited its 141 global attractions last year, down from the 67 million recorded in 2019.

A leading buy-to-let lender has cut rates across its range.

The Mortgage Works announcement includes a headline 3.99% deal fixed for five years.

The industry has reacted positively, with Darryl Dhoffer from The Mortgage Expert telling Newspage: "Buy-to-let mortgages have been dropping for some time now. 

"Who would have thought that a headline buy-to-let rate of 3.99% would be cheaper than a standard residential mortgage rate? 

"Fair play to The Mortgage Works. Let's hope big brother, Nationwide, wake up and start reducing residential interest rates."

Three lesser-noted developments at the Bank of England last week have prompted a forecast that 3% interest rates will return next year.

Economists at the respected insight firm Capital Economics have been analysing voting patterns and interviews given by Bank rate setters - and "as a result we have become a bit more confident in our forecasts that interest rates will be cut from 5.25% in June and to 3.00% next year".

Paul Dales, the firm's chief UK economist, explained: "First, for the first time since September 2021, none of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise rates.

"Second, the minutes to the meeting included a new line that said 'policy could remain restrictive even if Bank Rate were to be reduced'. This may sound innocuous, but at every meeting since interest rates rose to their peak of 5.25% last August, the MPC has said that policy would remain 'restrictive for sufficiently long'. 

"Pointing out that a rate cut is not inconsistent with that guidance implies that the MPC wanted to make it clear it would not necessarily need to remove that guidance before it cuts rates."

Thirdly, Dales has picked out comments by governor Andrew Bailey, who told the FT last Thursday afternoon that market forecasts for cuts this year were "not unreasonable".

Dales said: "Subsequent comments that 'all our meetings are in play; we take a fresh decision every time' imply that the MPC will be actively considering rate cuts at the coming meetings."

Markets are expecting three cuts, from 5.25% to 4.5%, this year, starting in June.

There is a 20% chance, according to markets, a first cut could come in May, when inflation data for the previous month is expected to show a big drop in inflation due to an April cut to the energy price cap.

By Daniel Dunford , senior data journalist

British people aren't the only ones to moan about the state and price of housing in their country, but we do have the best justification to do so.

Finland is the only country in the OECDi that spends more on housing than British workers as a proportion of total spending.

And after you adjust for quality, in terms of size, age and proximity to jobs, the UK has higher housing costs than any other developed economy, research by living-standards thinktank the Resolution Foundation shows.

These charts illustrate the key findings...

Leeds Building Society has just announced cuts of up to 0.25% on selected fixed-rate deals.

Relative newcomer to the market Gen H is also reducing rates by up to 0.2%.

Industry insiders say lenders are responding to falling swap rates (these reflect market expectations for future interest rates) and positive noises from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey last week.

Despite the Bank holding its base rate at 5.25%, Mr Bailey said market expectations of cuts this year (they currently think there will be up to three, starting in summer) were "reasonable".

Michael Haupt, owner of Tomorrow Mortgages, told the industry news provider Newspage, in quotes supplied to the Money blog: "It's great news that Leeds have announced a number of rate cuts this morning. 

"Hopefully this is the start of things to come and the general narrative around mortgage rates will become more positive.

"Though we didn't get a rate cut last week, we got very clear signs from the Bank of England that one is coming soon."

Ying Tan, CEO at Habito, added: "Great to see Leeds being the first mover, off the back of positive inflation news last week. They might be the first but they certainly won't be the last as swap rates have fallen since Andrew Bailey's comments that base rate cuts are on their way."

According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate today is 5.82%. The average five-year is 5.40%.

These are just averages - and many buyers or re-mortgagers will be able to secure something in the 4-5% range.

Regulator Ofgem has announced it is considering the future of its price cap.

The options on the table including a "more dynamic" limit, as well as "time-of-use dependent unit rates to encourage consumer flexibility".

The price cap was introduced in January 2019 to prevent people on variable tariffs being ripped off. Initially it changed a couple of times each year - but since 2022 it has been updated every three months.

This change was down to the Ukraine war helping drive up global energy prices - and the cap wasn't keeping up.

The flaws in the system were illustrated last winter when the cap went so high (£4,279) that the government intervened with its energy price guarantee, which capped average bills at £2,500 initially and then £3,000.

The current price cap is about to go down, so between 1 April and 30 June it will be £1,690 per year for a typical household who use electricity and gas and pay by direct debit.

The cap doesn't represent a maximum bill. Instead it creates an average bill by limiting how much you pay per unit of gas and electricity, as well as setting a maximum daily standing charge (which all households must pay to stay connected to the grid). 

Ofgem says it needs to adapt the system, as more households are switching onto "time-of-use" rates, which makes the universal cap "unsuitable for everyone".

Tim Jarvis, Ofgem's director general of retail and markets, said: "While the price cap played an important role in protecting consumers from the loyalty penalty that existed before its introduction, the energy market is changing as we move to net zero, and we recognise the systems we have in place may need to change too."

Six new airline routes will be available from Heathrow Airport this summer. 

More connections are being added to Abu Dhabi, Kos, Izmir, Bangalore, Barcelona and Paris-Orly.

The new routes are being offered by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Vueling.

Here at the details on each... 

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

British Airways will begin offering flights to Abu Dhabi from 20 April, adding to the one million passengers who visited from Heathrow last year.

Travellers will be able to check out the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (one of the world's largest), experience desert safaris and engage in one of the main attractions here - shopping. 

Kos, Greece 

This route is returning for the first time since 2022, courtesy of British Airways. 

From 18 May, holidaymakers can book to see golden beaches and ancient ruins, while enjoying authentic Greek cuisine. 

Izmir, Turkey

For those wanting to explore the Aegean coast, British Airways is now offering flights from Heathrow to Izmir from 18 May. 

The Turkish city combines rich history with busy bazaars - and it's not far from the ancient city of Ephesus, ever popular with tourists. 

Bangalore, India

From 31 March, Virgin Atlantic is opening a route from Heathrow to Bangalore. 

The vibrant city is known as the "Silicon Valley of India", and is also known for being particularly vegan-friendly. 

Barcelona, Spain 

More flights are being offered to Barcelona from 7 April with Vueling. 

Passengers can enjoy a mix of city break and beach break - wandering the historic streets of the Gothic Quarter and exploring the Gaudi architecture before soaking up the sun on Barceloneta Beach. 

Paris-Orly, France

Vueling will also offer flights to Paris-Orly from Heathrow from 7 April - in time for the Olympics in the French capital this summer. 

This is the first time Heathrow has served the route to Paris-Orly since 2017. 

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